I Never Told You
by CommanderSamurai
Summary: Zach was her best friend. Simple. Nothing more to it. But if you add a crazy party, a drug dealing basketball player, and a game of Seven Minutes in Heaven, you start to see that things are more complicated than they seem
1. One Hell of a Party

**A/N: Hi everybody! Ok, so this is my first fanfiction EVER! I'm really excited and really proud of it. It isn't about a particular show, book, or famous person. I decided since it's my first story, I should start with something easy. I used to make up fanfics for my friends, so I decided to write one based on them. Please review! Leave your comments, concerns, advice, etc. I don't mind a little constructive criticism. Just no flames! Now, to the story!**

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Tears started to leak out of my eyes, taking me by surprise. I wasn't the kind of girl to get emotional over some stupid guy. I wasn't really the kind of girl who got emotional over anything, come to think of it. But maybe, maybe by this point, it had just become too much. Too much rejection, too much pretending, too much heartbreak. I sighed another dramatic, exaggerated sigh. I flopped off the couch, moaning. Damn puberty. Damn every testosterone-filled male on this wretched earth.

Just then, the phone rang. Feeling annoyed that I had to drag myself out of my moment of misery and self loathing, I glanced at the phone. It was Zack. My best friend.

"Yello?" I asked.

"Hey, Nat. You wanna come over and play some Call of Duty?" he asked.

"Not really in the mood." I grumbled.

"What's the matter? Mr. Sexy pants didn't show?" he teased. I could practically see that annoying smile.

"No he didn't," I snapped. "So don't rub it in."

At that point, he realized that I was actually hurt, and all the tease left his voice.

"Hey, are you okay? Listen, I didn't know you were actually upset. He's just a jerk. Don't let it get you down. How about I come over with some food and we watch a movie or something. No chickflicks though."

"Ok," I responded, feeling better already. "We can watch some James Bond, and you better bring chips and salsa!"

"Fine," He grumbled. "So bossy...

I grabbed Doctor No and popped it in the DVD player. Just then the doorbell rang. Before I could even get up to open the door, Zack rushed in, starting to run his mouth the moment he entered my house. This wasn't unusual, though. We were so close, and had known each other so long that he didn't even bother to check if I was home, he just barged right in.

"Ok, so today at basketball practice, you WON'T BELIEVE what happened."

I rolled my eyes. I really didn't give a crap about who broke the free throw record.

"Brittany Halter just strolled into the gym, with the WHOLE squad, and started cheering for me...LIKE just me. And then she made a really pathetic attempt at what I guess was supposed to be a seductive face, and then she rolled her top down all low and stuff!" he exclaimed as if in disbelief.

I cringed. Brittany Halter was probably the bitchiest, sluttiest, most desperate female to ever walk the planet. She and Zack used to date, but she cheated on him with the star quarterback of Green Ridge High School football team. Probably because one man just isn't enough for "the great Brittany Halter." Then he dumped her as soon as a better girl came along. And ever since, she's done everything she can to win back Zack. She's always throwing herself at him, and she shows up practically wherever he is. She practically stalks the guy.

"So, what did you do? Give her a pity kiss?" I grumbled turning around to grab the salsa and pour it into a bowl.

"Woah.. Am I detecting jealousy?" He asked.

I didn't even answer him. Even the idea itself was ridiculous.

"You didn't answer! You're jealous! You're jealous!" He started singing.

I loved Zack. I really did. I mean, we'd been friends since, like, before we were born. Our moms were really close, and they happened to go through their pregnancies at roughly the same time. So, we've known each other since literally forever. But, I didn't love him THAT way.

"You flatter yourself. And it's not possible for me to like you because I like someone else."

"Look I'm well aware that you like someone else. It'd be hard for me to not know, considering that you're ALWAYS talking about him."

"Pfft. Am not!" I retorted.

"Oh, Brandon! You're so gorgeous! Marry me! Make my babies!" he squealed in his "girl voice."

I blushed furiously, but covered it by throwing "the jealousy spiel" right back at him.

"What's that? Am I detecting JEALOUSY?" I asked in my "guy voice."

"You know what, I give up. You win. Happy?" He admitted.

"I'm very happy." I smiled.

"Just start the movie," He sighed

"Ok," I laughed tossing him a root beer

"How'd you know I wanted one?" he asked

"Maybe because it's your favorite drink? And you always raid my fridge looking for some?" I replied.

"I do NOT raid your fridge!" he exclaimed.

"Do too! That's why my dad's always so pissed when he comes home. Because there's none left, and it's his favorite drink too," I informed him.

"Aww, shit. Now he's gonna come after me with his shotgun," he sighed

After the movie ended, I was feeling so much better! As annoying as Zack could be at times, he was just easy to talk to, which always left me feeling relaxed.

Once I washed the salsa bowl, I flopped onto the couch and put my legs on his lap. Which caused him to stiffen immediately. That was weird.

"Umm... Are you feeling okay?" I asked him.

"Yeah..Yeah.. I'm..Um.. Totally fine!" he stammered.

"Ok.." I shrugged, dismissing the weird behavior. It was so unlike Zack. He was never unsure of what to say. Maybe he was sick or something. Whatever. It was probably nothing.

I stretched, yawning and raising my arms above my head. His face suddenly turned bright red, and his palms became very sweaty. Telltale signs of a fever. Maybe he really was sick. I was torn away from my thoughts when his thighs tensed up under my feet.

"Zack, are you okay?" I asked, looking him straight in the eye.

He gulped. "Um.. yeah...I'm..umm..fine. Ineedtogotothebathroom!" he muttered at lightning speed before dashing down the hall.

At this point, I was beyond confused. This was so out of character. It was almost weirder than my whole crying thing earlier. Maybe it was just hormones or something. Or maybe all teenagers were just deciding to be weird today.

After about fifteen minutes, Zack came back in a slightly less-awkward fashion. He wasn't himself, but it wasn't as bad as before.

"Did something happen today? You're being really weird. I mean..weirder than usual." I started.

"Look, I'm fine. So, whataya wanna do now?" he asked, brushing away all this unnatural behavior and plastering his usual cheesy smile on his face.

All I really wanted to do was watch more movies. I was still kind of getting over the fact that I got stood up, and I didn't really have any other plans for tonight. But, you know what, screw it! So what if that jerk stood me up? That's his loss, not mine! It's Friday night! I should be out having a good time! Or I should at least be hanging with my friends!

"Let's invite some people over!" I smiled.

We each grabbed our cell phones and called some friends. A couple people were free, some were busy, and most were on dates. Since, for the most part, we were friends with both halves of these couples, we told them that it was fine to bring their significant others along.

We had about 10 people coming, so I figured we should get some more snacks. I pulled the chips and salsa back out, and grabbed some cokes and root beers from the garage freezer.

About 15 minutes later, people started to trickle in. First came some of my best girlfriends, Rachel,Holly, and Meagan. At the time, I thought it was weird that Brooke, my other friend didn't come with them. When she showed up later, my jaw dropped. Her hair was a giant mess. And was that a HICKY? But, I could put the puzzle pieces together. She'd been with Peter. And I guess they were trying not to make it obvious or something because Peter didn't come with her. But, I mean, come on, he looked even worse than her! But, I was happy for them. They were FINALLY dating. At least their love lives were going well, unlike mine.

At that point, all of the people I had called were there, except for Nick. He was probably stuck in traffic. So, I had no idea who else would show. And I was totally unprepared for what would come next

A couple of minutes after Nick finally arrived, a car sped down the road, tires screeching and music blasting as it parked in front of my house. Everyone turned to the window to see what was going on, but before I could even open the door, it was blasted open. And then all hell broke loose.

The whole damn basketball team stormed into my house VERY noisily, laughing,

talking, and making a mess of my home. It was chaos. And just when I thought things couldn't get any worse, they did.

Some genius started pulling beers out of the car and walked around, offering them to everyone. Much to my dismay, most of the people there, even my friends, gladly took drinks and were slowly becoming intoxicated.

At this point, I was panicking. There were a bunch of drunken basketball players IN MY HOUSE, and we were underage! My parents were going to kill me when they got back from their weekend trip to Chicago! Then dance on my grave! Thank God they weren't here now! Who the hell even invited these people?

I tried to remain calm. I really did. I told myself to just look on the bright side. I mean, things couldn't possibly get any worse, right? Well, just like always, I was DEAD WRONG.

Just as this thought crossed my mind, the doorbell rang. I sighed. Who the hell was it now? I opened the door, and I bet my jaw hit the steps. Couldn't it have been anyone else? Anyone else but THEM!

There was Brittany Halter. And Miles Jackson. I know what you're thinking. Who's Miles Jackson? Well, he's the prick that stood me up that night. And. He. Was. Holding. Hands. With. Brittany. I wanted to scream. And crawl into a whole. And die. And then you know what that jerk did? He looked at me, smiled, and said "Hi Nina!" He didn't even remember my name, let alone that we were supposed to be on a date

I just gave up at that point. Clearly I wasn't attractive enough for any guy to like me. This was, like, the fifth guy that stood me up. Brittany Halter obviously had something I didn't. Like fake blond hair, a face plastered in makeup, and a willingness have make out with any guy that came her way. Anyways, it didn't matter.

"Come on in," I grumbled.

I had a headache. No, it was worse than that. It was a MIGRAINE. I needed some caffeine. I went over to one of the guys who was passing out drinks, not planning to get drunk. So, I asked him if he had some coke. He tossed me one and got this weird smile on his face. I shrugged it off, and downed the whole thing in one gulp. It tasted kind of different.

I made my way into the living room. I expected to see total anarchy, but the chaos had died down. In its place, was everyone sitting in a circle with two cups in the middle.

"Oh! Hey, Natalie!" yelled Rachel. "You're just in time."

"For what?" I asked, confused.

"SEVEN MINUTES IN HEAAAAVEEEN!" Screamed Holly.

I really didn't have anything better to do. Plus, there were a lot of people here at this point. Way more than before. I guess the basketball players called their friends and girlfriends or something. But why didn't I see them come inside? I guess they came through the backdoor. But anyways, there were so many girls at this point, what were the chances of me getting picked? I grabbed a slip of paper, wrote down my name, and shoved it in the girl's cup.

Peter decided to be the one who drew the names.

"Okay. Hmm.. let's see. Let's do girls first!" Peter exclaimed.

Everyone held their breath as he fished around in the cup. "NATALIE SMITH!"

Shit. Shit. Shit. How'd that even happen? There were like 50 names in there, and they picked me! This felt like the Hunger Games, except I wasn't fighting to the death. But honestly, I would've rather being doing that than playing Seven Minutes in Heaven.

I really hoped the guy would at least be semi-decent. I prayed to every saint I could think of. "ZACK PARKER !"

It got really quiet then. Then I laughed. I laughed so loud that even the drunks turned around to see what was going on. I mean, it wasn't like it was horrible to be in there with Zack. He was just my best friend. I knew everything about him, so there wasn't much to talk about. Plus, nothing was going to happen.

I got up and started to walk towards the closet. I noticed that Zack's face was even redder than before. He really needed to get some aspirin.

He got up and came into the closet several seconds after me. Holly ran in, laughed maniacally, and turned out all the lights. Brooke then screamed, "OK Y'ALL GOT SEVEN MINUTES! MAKE THE MOST OF IT!"

I laughed. By doing what?

"Well then, what do you wanna do?" I asked Zack.

"No clue," he muttered.

"I got it! Let's just play another game!" I suggested.

"Umm.. like what?" He asked.

"I Never!" I yelled.

"Ok. We can just use our hands. Right?" he asked.

"I think hands works," I told him. "I'll start!" After thinking for a second, I started the game with "Never have I ever dated someone who cheated on me!"

"Damnitt," he muttered, putting a finger down. But suddenly, he froze. Scarlet started to creep up his neck, and his pupils dilated. Jesus, had he been smoking something?

"Ok. My turn," He stammered nervously. "Never have I ever... told you how I really feel about you. " He gulped and started to move closer until we were inches apart.

"What do you mean?" I asked. "You always-

But I was cut off as he leaned forward, closing the gap between our lips. I just stood there for a couple seconds, unmoving. I was feeling about 20 different ways all at once. He was my best friend, just a friend, that was all, right? But oh my God he was SUCH a good kisser. I felt so attracted to him right now, it wasn't even funny. Did I have feelings for my best friend? Or did your heart always get all jumpy when someone, especially your best friend, surprised you with a kiss?

You know what. I didn't even care anymore. I was just going to enjoy this while it lasted. I eventually got into the kiss, moving my lips against his. I inched closer to him, wrapped one arm around his waist, and tangled one in his hair. Meanwhile, he pushed me up against the wall, just touching my waist with the fingertips of one hand. The other hand was right next to my head, pressed up against the wall. I didn't know if this was wrong or bad, but I didn't care because it felt amazing. He smelled so damn good! And he tasted good too. Like spearmint. We eventually had to pull apart for air, but we started right back up again. We continued like this for about six minutes I guess. It seemed so short, but the next thing I knew, Brookewas screaming through the door again.

"YA GOT THIRTY SECONDS LEFT! USE IT TO GET YA CLOTHES BACK ON AND CLEAN UP THE EVIDENCE, ROMEO AND JULIET!"

This brought me back to reality. I froze and pulled away from Zack. Oh crap. He was a MESS. His hair was all tangled, his shirt was crumpled, and he had my lipstick on his cheek. I probably looked just as bad. I wanted to continue our previous activities so badly. I wanted more, and looking at his eyes, I was pretty sure I could see that he did too. But if anyone figured out what had happened, we were screwed. We did our best to clean up with what little time we had, and we made it just as Brooke yelled "I'M COMING IN!"

I guess we did a good job putting things back in order because when she saw us, her face dropped, and she looked thoroughly disappointed. "WELL THAT WAS A COMPLETE WASTE OF TIME. Y'ALL DID NOTHING INTERESTING! PETER, PASS ME THE BUD LIGHT AND GET TWO MORE PEOPLE UP IN THAT BITCH!"

Yeah. We didn't do anything interesting. That's why my heart was racing a hundred miles a minute. Before I could even leave the room to get to the kitchen, Zack grabbed my hand and lead me up to my room. He slammed the door shut.

"Ok, Natalie. Before you say anything, just let me talk. I thought you didn't like me, and even though it hurt, I was dealing with it. I'm thought you loved Brandon, but, I just had to do that. Just once. I just had to let you know how I feel." he blurted out. But then he stopped. "But that kiss...that kiss...confused the absolute shit out of me. I don't even know how you feel about me. But I need to know..do you love me?"

The look in his eyes is so hopeful, you'd have to be heartless to say no. I'm still trying to wrap my mind around the fact that he might love me. But before I can even respond, I feel my stomach clench, and I grab it. Before Zack can even ask if I'm okay, the food comes up and my puke is all over his sneakers.

I stand there frozen from shock. I just puked on his sneakers after he asked me if I loved him! How was he supposed to take that? But before I could even stammer out an apology, I felt my knees buckle underneath me. I fell to the ground, and began to vomit uncontrollably. I hugged my stomach, praying it would stop.

Zack didn't say anything. But like a good friend should always do, he held my hair back as I puked my guts out. I heard footsteps thundering up the stairs, and I shuddered. I really did not need anyone to come in right now.

But of course, the footsteps came closer. They stopped at my door and were replaced with a series of loud knocks.

"DON'T YOU TWO EVEN THINK FOR A SECOND THAT I DON'T KNOW WHAT WENT ON IT THAT CLOSET! I SAW YOUR FACES WHEN YOU CAME OUT, AND I WATCHED ZACK PRACTICALLY DRAG YOU UPSTAIRS! Y'ALL BETTER BE DECENT CUZ I'M COMING IN!" Brooke yelled.

"Why wouldn't we be decent?" Zack asked, yelling so that his voice passed through the door.

"YOU MEAN Y'ALL AIN'T MAKING BABIES? WELL, YOU PROBABLY WILL BEFORE THE NIGHT IS OVER!" she yelled.

"Quit yelling, we're not deaf. Just come in," he sighed.

"HI LOVEBI-Oh God. That's disgusting," she cringed.

"Oh good, you're being quiet now," he muttered.

"What the hell happened?" she exclaimed.

"Well, she just started puking, I don't know why," he responded.

Suddenly, Brooke's eyes widened in realization. "Oh God, Natalie. Did you drink anything from André's stash?"

The urge to puke had washed over for now, so I was able to respond. "Was he that tall black guy on the basketball team that was passing out beers?"

"Yep," sighed Brooke. "He probably slipped something in your drink."

"WHAT?" yelled Zack. "I'm gonna bust his head in!"

With that, he left, and it was just me and Brooke.

"So," she started, waggling her eyebrows suggestively, "you and Zack, huh? Who would've guessed? Smoochie, smoochie!"

"It was NOTHING! He kissed me first, so I just kissed back. That's all there is to it."

"So.. .you didn't like kissing him? Not even the tiniest bit?"

"Well..I mean, yeah, he's a good kisser. But, we're not an item or anything like that."

I didn't even know if that was a lie or not. I was confused enough, I didn't need Brooke getting involved. I needed to convince her it was nothing so I could get her off my chest. Because if she knew, she would tell Peter, and Peter would tell everyone!

Zack came in a couple of minutes later, looking pretty pissed off. I guess he got into a fight with André or something. He tossed a wet towel at me, and then left without saying a word. He was a pretty easy going guy. André must've said something pretty bad to get him that angry.

I guess it's because she drinks so much, but Brooke really knows how to take care of someone who's retching uncontrollably. She made me lay down, and then she went downstairs for a couple minutes. She came back with some weird smelling liquid and told me to drink it. She claimed it would make me feel better. And for some reason, I actually trusted her.

I pinched my nose as I downed the whole thing. I coughed and spluttered. As bad as it smelt, it tasted three times worse. I suddenly felt the telltale clench in my stomach. I began to puke once again. However, this time, there was no pause between my puking. A huge amount came out all at once. But, Brooke was ready. She had positioned a trash can in front of me, and sat on my bed waiting until I was done. When I was pretty sure it was all over, I turned to her, angry as hell.

"I thought you said it would make me feel BETTER!" I yelled.

"I did say that. And I was right. Instead of making you suffer through hours of puking, I figured I should give you this. That drink induces and speeds up vomitting. Now almost all of those toxins are out of your system. You most likely won't puke again."

"Thanks," I muttered.

Brooke then grabbed the towel for me to wipe off my face with. She forced me to go to bed and covered me with all the blankets. It was only then that I realized I was shaking. Brooke walked away, leaving a glass of water for me to drink when I woke up.

As nosey as she could be, Brooke was a pretty good friend.

I woke up several hours later, surprised to see that I wasn't laying in a pile of my own vomit. According to my clock, it was one in the morning. So, why was I still hearing music blasting from the floor beneath me? I grabbed the water, drinking it little by little. I still didn't feel one hundred percent better, so I made sure to be careful.

I went to the bathroom to wash my face, and then I went down stairs. There were still a decent amount of people there, but at least some of them had left. Upon second examination, I realized it was just André and his friends that were missing. I guess Zack kicked them out. He was so sweet.

I turned around to walk into the living room since that was where most of the people were. When I got there, my heart shattered into a million pieces.

Zack was kissing Britney. Just like he had kissed me. With one hand around her waist, and the other pressed up against the wall. I gasped out of shock and pain. The tears ran down my face before I could even try to hold them back.

Meagan, Rachel, Brooke, and Holly saw me. Their faces turned very sympathetic, and they got up to go talk to me. At least that's what three of them did. Rachel got up and turned in the opposite direction. She stormed over to Zack and very harshly pulled him off of Brittany.

"Hey Briggs!" As he turned to face her, she brought her hand up and slapped him clear across the cheek. Everyone stopped, for the smack had been so loud it seemed to echo across the whole room. "Think twice before you screw with our friend's heart!"

This seemed to inspire Brooke, so she took it upon herself to march over there and back Rachel up.

"YEAH BITCH! OR I'LL BE PAYING YOU A VISIT WITH MY SHOT GUN. "

She then raised her leg up and kneed him as hard as she could right in the crotch.

He fell into fetal position from the pain. But as much pain as he was in, I was hurting ten times more.


	2. The Aftermath

**A/N: Hello readers (even though there's only one follower :3)! I present to you... CHAPTER 2! Time to find out what happens after Zach kisses Brittany. Whatever you're expecting, I bet you're wrong**

I ran out the back door, tears flowing down my face. I caught sight of my reflection in the glass, my appearance profoundly crestfallen. On the way there, I had to pass Zach. I was quite happy to see Brooke's red fingerprints still blazing a fire on his face. Once outside, I sat underneath my big oak tree, Roger, we called him, and I just let it all out. I began to cry uncontrollably, hugging my knees to my chest.

I was an idiot. A stupid ugly girl. I was naive enough to think that Zach loved me. I was naive enough to think he was even my friend all this time. Well he clearly wasn't. He clearly didn't give a damn about me, considering that he didn't even feel bad about toying with my heart and then kissing another girl ten minutes later. Guys just didn't like me. I wasn't pretty. I wasn't worth anything in his eyes. And the sad thing was, I fell right into his trap. I was starting to fall for him. Maybe even starting to love him. But, he didn't love me. I was almost convinced that no one ever would.

I sat there for about ten minutes, listening to the sounds of nature, hoping it would calm the emotional deluge pouring out of me. A wolf howled somewhere in the distance, probably over on Eagle's Crest Hill. Maybe he was all alone too.

When my friends came out, I didn't want to talk. I didn't want to go inside. No, I didn't want hot chocolate. No, I didn't need a blanket. I was fine, I told them. Even though I wasn't. But, they already knew that. There was no point in reiterating it.

After about two hours, the sounds of the party eventually started to die down. Cars sped off down the street. The music disappeared, leaving in its place an eerie silence. It seemed as though all human civilization had inexplicably been swept away, adding to my feeling of complete solitude. I was still crouching in the same spot underneath the oak tree. After the last light went out, Holly and Rachel came to visit me.

"I know you don't wanna talk, so just listen. He's a douchebag. And a jerk. And he certainly doesn't deserve you," Rachel snapped

"So don't let him do this to you. Don't let him hurt you like this, and don't waste time thinking about him. Because as much as you don't want to believe it, he isn't thinking about you. And I'm really sorry about that. I really am." Holly added.

They each bent down to give me a hug, and then they walked away without another word. I eventually made my way up the steps and into the living room. And much to my chagrin, Zach was still there. He sure had some nerve.

"Nat, listen. I-

"DON'T YOU DARE CALL ME 'NAT'!" HOW DARE YOU ACT LIKE EVERYTHING'S OKAY BETWEEN US! LIKE WE'RE STILL BEST BUDDIES! SHUT UP! ALL RIGHT? JUST SHUT UP! DO YOU EVER THINK ABOUT ANYONE OTHER THAN YOURSELF? NO!YOU DON'T! YOU KNOW WHAT? GET OUT OF MY HOUSE! GET OUT OF MY LIFE! AND JUST LEAVE! I NEVER WANT TO SEE YOU AGAIN! EVER! OK?

I must've been on the verge of a nervous breakdown because I began to shake as a bout of crying racked through me.

"OUT! JUST GET OUT! NOW!" I yelled.

And so he turned away and left without another word.

I woke up the next morning as the first rays of sunlight leaked through the window pane. I had that horrible feeling in my throat. The one you get when you've been crying for an extremely long time. But, that was the least of my worries.

My house was a mess. And when I say mess, I don't mean your parents' version of a mess, which is basically a few pieces of laundry on the floor. It looked like a dump. Pizza slices on the floor. Broken glass piled in the middle of the kitchen. A shattered disco ball. Beer bottles scattered here and there. I needed serious help. There was no way on Earth that I would be able to clean the whole house before my parents got back tomorrow night.

Before I could even begin to come up with a solution to my problem, the doorbell rang. I trudged over to open it, and I saw Rachel, Holly, Brooke, and Meagan.

"Hi, Natalie. We just wanted to see how you're holding up. You okay, girl?"

I tried to say "Hi!" or something else that would convey that I was completely fine, even though I most certainly was not. But before I could get a word out, I just started crying. Luckily, They were pretty much expecting this kind of reaction.

"OKAY! HOLLY, YOU GET THE COOKIE DOUGH ICE CREAM OUT OF THE VAN, AND RACHEL, POP TITANIC IN THE DVR! OH AND CALL THOSE LAZY ASS BOYS! SOME ONE NEEDS TO CLEAN UP THIS SHIT!"

So, they spent the day watching depressing movies with me, and they even helped me clean up the humongous mess. After seven hours of grueling, nonstop work, the house actually looked semi-decent.

"Finally, it's DONE!" yelled Greg, flopping onto the ground.

"Why the HELL was all that gum stuck to the couch?" Nick yelled.

"Hey, look at it on the bright side," Peter suggested. "Somehow, last night went down in Greenridge history as one of the best parties ever."

"Ok, I'll admit, it was pretty good! You know how to throw a party, Natalie," Nick conceded. I found this funny, considering that I didn't even legitimately try to,throw a party. SOME people just decided to randomly show up at my house.

"Hey, where is Natalie?" Nick asked.

"Over there, being depressed and mopy," Greg muttered.

"AW HELL NO!" Brooke yelled. "GIRL, WHO CARES ABOUT THAT SHIT STICK? YOU CAN FIND TEN GUYS BETTER THAN HIM JUST BY GOING TO THE MALL! NOW GET OFF YOUR BEHIND AND GO AND FIND YA SELF A MAN!"

"Well, unless you can pull a man out of your _ass_, I think I'm out of of luck. Boys don't fall from the sky," I muttered.

"Skydivers do!" Rachel insisted. "I can totally hook you up with my cousin. He's like a skydiver. Well, kinda. Not really. I mean-

"SHUT UP!" Nick yelled.

"Just go get yourself some damn wonton soup!" Rachel yelled.

"What the hell? I'm not even Chinese! You're so racist!" Nick yelled.

"Oh, that's right. I forgot. You're _Mexican_." Rachel drawled.

"I'M PHILIPINO! AND F**K YOU!"' he screamed.

"Ladies, Ladies, you're both pretty," Holly smiled.

"THIS IS NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS!" Nick yelled.

"WELL LOOKS LIKE SOMEBODY'S ON HIS MAN PERIOD!" Rachel retorted. "NEED ME TO LEND YOU SOME TAMPIES?"

"WHY WOULD YOU HAVE 'TAMPIES'," he inquired, "WHEN YOU'RE ACTUALLY A-

"OK! THAT'S IT! BOTH OF Y'ALL NEED TA SHUT THE HELL UP before I pull out BERNIE!" Brooke snapped.

"Who the hell is Bernie?" Greg asked.

"MA POCKET KNIFE!" Brooke yelled.

As Peter tried to pry "Bernie" from Brooke's hands, I still didn't have a solution to my current problem.

"Well, ok then. Thank you all for your _astounding_ advice and ever present help and support, but like I said, a perfect man isn't just going to appear on my front steps," I drawled sarcastically.

Just then, the doorbell rang. Brooke got up to answer it and came back with a devious smile on her face. "It's for you, Natalie."

I got up, very confused and extremely curious. When I got to the front door, I was shellshocked.

There was Brandon. 6 feet and three inches of sexy, godly man meat. "Hello, love," he started in his British accent.

I started to blush profusely, and I had what seemed like an almost primal, natural instinct to start fixing my hair. My palms were sweating, I was pretty sure my mouth still smelled like vomit, and I was suddenly conscious of the fact that I was wearing footy pajamas. For the past three years of my life, I had been absolutely infatuated with him. I had pictured kissing him about a million times, and I had very carefully planned out what I would say to him if he was to ever show up at my house. But after all that work, guess what I said.

"I LIKE YOUR FACE!" I blurted out.

As I floundered around like a fish out of water, Brooke snickered from where she was hiding behind the wall. "I'm a mad genius..." she whispered to herself. Next to her, Peter was currently facepalming. "Yeah.. _you_ might be a mad genius, but _she_ can't even stammer out a coherent sentence when he's around. In other words, we're screwed."

"Look, WHO WEARS THE PANTS IN THIS RELATIONSHIP? THAT'S RIGHT! ME! LET ME HANDLE IT! I KNOW WHAT I'M DOING!" she yelled, alerting Brandon and I of her position.

"Excuse me," I said to Brandon, smiling. I then quickly turned on my heel and marched over to Brooke. I then proceeded to smack her on the head.

"Were you _eavesdropping_ on us?!" Natalie whisper-yelled. "What the fudge?"

"We were not eavesdropping," Peter replied. "We were...washing our hair?" he provided, using the nearby bathroom as inspiration.

Brooke then facepalmed, and I turned to Peter with a look that clearly said "Really? Do you expect me to believe that?".Thus, Brooke proceeded to stare Peter down with an extremely annoyed look on her face and said "YOU'RE AN IDIOT! AND YOU REALLY NEED TO WORK ON YOUR EXCUSES!"

"But that's what you love about me!" Jacob responded, smiling coyly and causing Brooke to facepalm yet again.

"Look, I don't even care anymore," I replied, turning around and walking back to Brandon.

"You imbecile!" Carolyn whisper-yelled at Peter. "You almost blew the whole damn thing! If there's any chance of this working, you need to KEEP YOUR GODDAMN MOUTH SHUT!" She then turned around and stormed into the kitchen.

"What did I do to deserve this?" Peter sighed. "I'm dating a mad woman..."

As Brooke returned to the kitchen, she was suddenly bombarded with a boatload of questions and comments:

"What's going on?"  
"Who was that?"  
"Was it Zach? IMMA KILL THAT BITCH!"  
"No it couldn't be!"  
"Well maybe it was!"  
"Maybe it's Miles!"  
"No way! That douche is probably busy knocking up Brittany!"

"ALL OF Y'ALL NEED TA SHUT YA TRAPS NOW!" Brooke interrupted. The room fell so silent that you could hear a pin drop. "Good. Now, that you're quiet, listen up. Do NOT ask me any more questions. Do NOT get involved. And do NOT nose around in my business. The more people that are aware of what I'm doing, the higher a risk I run of being figured out. I have everything perfectly planned out down to the very second, and I've accounted for everything that could possibly go wrong."

"What the hell are you talking about?" inquired Holly.

"She's officially gone crazy," Nick replied sardonically as he rolled his eyes.

"Ok. You can call me crazy," she smiled slyly. "But it doesn't matter. All the pieces are falling into place.

Meanwhile, I had finally found my tongue, and I was actually having a decent conversation with Brandon. Turns out we had a lot in common. We were both straight-A students, and we both loved science class. He was a musician just like me, and the UK was his favorite country too. He was even more spectacular than I had ever dreamed of. A guitarist who spent an entire month every summer building water purification systems for the poor, starving children in Africa? He was perfect. Practically a God.

I suddenly had a theory as to why a majority of the Earth's males were ugly jerks. I'd like to think that when God made humankind, he had a big bottle of sexiness and perfection. He probably tried to spread it all out evenly, but he tripped and spilled it all onto Brandon. Thank you to whatever blessed thing tripped God.

"So, do you wanna go catch a film with me?" he asked. I was shaken from my ruminations by this very unexpected question. I didn't even know what to say. I finally appreciated the word "Brainfreeze." But I guess my mouth took over and knew what to do, because without my brain's consent, I heard myself reply, "Yeah. That sounds great."

"Ace! I'll be back here at around seven o'clock, and I'll drop you back off at your flat when we're done? Sound good?" he asked.

"What movie do you want to see?" I inquired.

"American Hustle looks brilliant," he replied. "Plus, Jennifer Lawrence is gorgeous. Well, I mean, not as gorgeous as you," he winked. I was pretty sure my face couldn't turn any redder.

"That sounds amazing," I replied.

"Well, I'll see you then," he smiled. Damn, he had an adorable smile. Before he left, he grabbed my hand and placed a kiss upon it. I was wrong. My face actually could turn redder.

As I made my way upstairs to go shower, get dressed, and do whatever else I needed to get ready, Brooke sat in the hallway, her back slumped against the wall.

"Like I said before, it's all falling into place." she smiled wickedly.

I strolled into the bathroom and turned on the shower to warm up the water. I took out all my makeup and arranged it on the counter. After I had thoroughly scrubbed and conditioned my hair, I started deciding what I would wear.

As for what I was going to wear, I decided on something casual, since it was a movie date. I pulled out a pair of stone washed, light blue jeans and proceeded to put them on. I also grabbed a loose floral top with straps, a blue background and pink peonies. I then strolled into the bathroom to apply makeup. I usually didn't wear much, so I just applied my favorite mascara and some light pink lipgloss. I slipped on my red Chuck Taylors, and then everything was done, except for my hair.

I had EXTREMELY curly hair. So, the top of my head usually looked like wet poodle fur, but today, the odds were in my favor. My curls were perfect. I parted my hair to the side and I was ready to go. I descended the stairs, strolled into the living room, and plopped myself onto the couch.

My friends were currently watching a romantic comedy. Peter was on the couch, his arm around Brooke, and for once, she was completely subdued as she rested her head on his shoulder. Greg was occupying one of the recliners, and Rachel and Meagan were sharing the other one, since there was no more room. Nick and Holly were taking up the other half of the couch, keeping an awkward distance between themselves. I know it seems EXTREMELY cliché, but almost as they were in a movie, they reached for the popcorn at the same time, and their hands touched. They both jumped a little at the unexpected contact, and turned their heads down to look at their hands. They stared and let them linger there for several seconds, but suddenly, they simultaneously pulled apart at the speed of light.

I smiled. It was no secret that they liked each other, but they were taking things slow. Which made the whole thing much cuter.

In about 15 minutes, the doorbell rang. I looked at the clock.  
_That's Weird_. I thought. _It's only 6. He was going to come at 7. _

Nevertheless, I walked towards the door and opened it.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE?!" I screamed. It was Zach. I thought I told him to LEAVE ME ALONE.

"Please, please, listen to me," he begged.

"I want nothing to do with you," I responded. "I already told you to get out. I mean it. You are not welcome on my property. Now, get out before I call the cops." I responded.

"NO!" he yelled. "You need to listen to me!"

"Go away!" I screamed.

"WHAT'S GOING ON OUT THERE?" Brooke yelled. Several, seconds later, she appeared at the door.

"OY! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE! I THOUGHT WE TOLD YOU TO F**K OFF!" she yelled. "THAT'S IT! YOU, MA FINE SIR, ARE ABOUT TO GET BERNIED."

"Bernied? What does that even-

Before he could finish, Brooke came at him with all her fury. She sprang forward with her pocketknife, causing Zach to jump back. When she continued to brandish "Bernie," he sprinted down the lawn, hoping to escape her wrath. But this wasn't enough for Brooke. She chased him off the property and continued to follow him as he dashed all over the street, hoping to lose her.

"THIS'LL TEACH YOU TO MESS WITH ME!" she yelled as she tackled him to the ground. "WHY YA HITTING YOURSELF?! WHY YA HITTING YOURSELF?!"

Brooke then slapped him across the face, kneed him in the nuts, and punched him in the jaw. At this point, he was begging for forgiveness, but Brooke still wasn't satisfied. Somehow, he found an opportunity to scramble to his feet and run away, but his house was too far. Brooke's speed and relentless pursuit of him resulted in him being tackled to the ground yet again.

While I stood there, enjoying the show, a silver Mercedes pulled into my driveway and came to a stop. Brandon came out, and when he spotted me, he smiled. He was dressed casually, like me. He was sporting dark blue jeans, a gray beanie, a red and blue plaid shirt, and black vans.

"Hello, love," he said to me. "Ready to go?" he inquired.

"Yes," I smiled.

As I made my way to the car, he opened the door for me and gestured in with his hands. I sighed. He was _such_ a gentleman. Once we were both in the car, he rolled the windows down to let in the cool spring breeze. However, before we could leave, we heard a triumphant shout from down the street.

"THAT'S RIGHT PRETTY BOY! REMEMBER THIS NEXT TIME YOU MESS WITH BROOKE AND BERNIE!"

"What on EARTH was that?" Brandon inquired, astonished.

"Nothing!" I blurted out very quickly. "Just drive! Drive


End file.
